Seal.



PATENTE!) DBG. 1, 1903. L.- A.' FOUTE.

SEAL.`

APPLIOATION FILED um. 1a, 190s,

no MODEL.

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Jwemar:

if @Mn 7H: cams Pneus :au4 Norauto-404, msm-1s UNITED STATES atentedecember 1, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

LEWIS A. FOOTE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORTO CHICAGO CAR SEAL ANDMANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORA- TION OFILLINOIS.

SEAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 745,587, datedDecember 1, 1903. Application filed March 18, 1903. Serial No. 148,367.(No model.)

Y To a/ZZ whom it mrtg/concern:

Be it known that I, LEWIS A. FOUTE, a citizen of the UnitedStates,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Seals, of which the followingis al specication.

My invention relates particularly to seals for use on cars and inanalogous situations;

and my primary object is to provide a selff locking seal of simple andcheap construction and one which cannot be tampered with without readydetection.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whichFigure l represents a perspective view of the seal in the opencondition; Fig. 2, a similar view of the seal in the closed or lockedcondition; Fig. 3, a perspective view illustrating the manner in'whichthe parts of the seal are assembled Fig.'4, an enlarged broken sectiontaken as indicated at line 4: of Fig. 2; Fig. 5, a section taken asindicated at line 5 of Fig. 4; Fig. 6, a brokenv perspective View of amodification of the seal, and Fig. 7 a broken section taken as indicatedat line 7 of-Fig. 6.

In the construction shown in Figs. l to 5,

inclusive, the seal co'mprises a tin or shoet-V metal casing or body A,equipped interiorly with a locking member a, and a shackle A', havingone end anchored in the casing and the other end equipped with a lockingmember d. The casing comprises a side plate C, having its inner surfaceprovided with depressions c' and having onecurvedend edge and curvedlateral edges bounded by a flange c2, the other end of the side platebeing outy straight and left unianged, as indicated at c3, and a sideplate d,provided with one curved end edge and curved lateral edges andhaving the metal struck up to form at the inner surface a longitudinalchannel or depression having portions ol d2 of a given Width and depthand an intermediate portion d3 of the same depth and constricted widthand a portion d4 of the same width as the portion d3,

but of lessdepth. The shackle A has the metal struck down to form on itslateral side has the metal struck up at its anchored. extremity, asindicated at f', to aord beneath 'said struck-up portion a space forreceiving the anchored end of .the locking member a. The locking member@comprises a liat springmetal member having one end turned under, asindicated at g, to lit into the space beneath the enlargement f' andhaving the other end bent back upon its upper surface and bifurcated toform locking-prongs g. The prongs g are separated by a slot g2 and haveoblique edge portions g3, terminating at the points of the prongs, whichare turned away from each other. The locking member oz' is formed bycutting away the metal of the shackle at the edges thereof near the freeend of the shackle, as indicated at '72, striking the metal up beyondthe cut-away portions, as indicated at h', and bending it intosubstantially box form by turning it downwardly at the lateral marginsto form vertical portions h2 and inwardly to form lower fianges h3. Thisaiords a longitudinal channel h4, open at' the extreme end' of theshackle to receive the locking member a.; The'walls h2 are cut away toform openings or slots h5, affording locking-shoulders for engaging theprongs of the locking member d. The rear ends of the flanges h3 are bentup beneath the raised portion h' to form a guard hl, preventinginsertion of an instrument between the ends of the shackle in the lockedcondition. Adjacent to the neck of the shackle at the cut-away points hthe metal is perforated and struck upwardly to form a raised eye h6.

In assembling the parts the turned extremity g of the member d is hookedunder the Iportion fof the inner end of the shackle, and

the shackle is then placed so that the bosses f engage the depressionsc' of the plate c. The plate d is then put into place, iitting withinthe flanges of the plate c. In this position the raised portion d4receives beneath it the raised portion f of the shackle. The edges ofthe flange c are then turned over upon the edge margins of the plate dand locked, as indicated in Fig. et. In this operation, or before, ifdesired, the plated has a channel formed on its upper surface near itsperiphery for receiving the edge of the flange c2. This ICO channel ispreferably formed by striking the metal downwardly to form a bead or ribk, and,

the member c is similarly beaded or ribbed, as indicated at 7c. Thesebeads or ribs may be formed in the plates before the flange is bentover, if desired.

-From the foregoing description it will be understood that the lockingmembera is anchored in such a manner that it is held centered in thechannel cl3, so that the box-form free end of the shackle may be slippedover the outer end of the locking'member a to permit t-he prongs toenter the slots h5. The wide portion d2 of the channel,.with which themember d is provided, affords space for the prongs of the locking membera, and the constricted portion d3 prevents access to the prongs.Moreover, when the shackle` is locked the neck portion at 7i fits intothe portion d of the channel, and the shouldersl aid in closing theentrance to the channel. Also the raised boss h6 abuts against thestruck-np portion of the metal adjacent to the channel cl', affording anadditional safeguard against the insertion of any instrument and alsoaffording a means of detection in case the shackle is broken off andshortened and then inserted into the casing. It will be understood, ofcourse, that the seals may be marked in any suitable manner and thatthey will commonly be numbered and arranged in numerical order for use.The perforation at h6 aords a convenient means for arranging the sealson a wire in numerical order.

In the modification shown in Figs. 6 and 7, B represents a cast-metalcasing or body equipped with a locking member b, and B' a shackle havingone end anchored in the casing. The casing is formed with a longitudinalchannel b', in which the member h` isccentered. The inner end of theshackle has a struckup portion b2, provided with a perforation h3, andthe member b has its inner or rear end turned downwardly to afford ahook b4, received by the slot h3 and cast into the metal of the casing.This provides for the secure anchoring of both the shackle and thelocking member. The locking member is of the same construction as thelocking member a, and the free end of the shackle is equipped with alocking member similar to the locking member a.

In both constructions the inner locking member is located so as to befree from tampering, and the shackle is so constructed that it cannot bealtered without detection. This overcomes the objection inherent incertain seals which employ a hook on the end of the shackle, which maybe broken off and a new hook formed.

It will be understood that changes in details of construction within thespirit of my invention may be made. Hence no undue limitation should beunderstood from the foregoing detailed description, which has been givenfor clearness of understanding only.

What I regard as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. A seal, comprising a body formed with asuitablelongitlidinalchannel,alocking member comprising a sheet-metalmember having its rear portion anchored in said body and its frontportion bent upon itself and bifurcated to afford locking-prongs, saidfront portion being suitably centered in said channel, and a shackleprovided at its free extremity with a locking member having lateralwalls for pressing said prongs together during insertion of the shackleand locking-shoulders for engaging the extremities of said prongs, forthe purpose set forth.

2. A seal, comprising a body having a suitable longitudinal channel, anda shackle and locking member having interlocking portions anchored insaid body, said locking member being centered in said channel andequipped with yieldinglocking-prongs and said shackle having at its freeextremity a locking member adapted to fit over said first-named lockingmember and provided with locking-shoulders, for the purpose set forth.

3. A seal, comprising a plate having depressions on its inner surfaceformed by striking the metal outwardly, a shackle having one endprovided with bosses engaging said depressions, a locking member havingone portion interlockingly engaging the inner end of said shackle, asecond plate provided with a longitudinal channel and having iiangedconnection with said first-named plate, and a locking member at the freeend of said shackle, for the purpose set forth.

4. A seal, comprisinga flanged plate having the metal struck outwardlyto form depressions on its inner surface, a shackle having the metalstruck downwardly to form bosses engaging said depressions and the metalstruck upwardly at its extremity, a locking member having a hooked endengaging a struck-up portion of said shackle, a second plate formed witha longitudinalchannel in which said locking member is centered and whichis secured to said first-named plate by said flange and a locking memberat the free end of said shackle, for the purpose set forth.

5. A seal, comprising a suitable body provided with a longitudinalchannel, a shackle having one end anchored in said body, a lockingmember having its rear end portion anchored in said body and equipped atits free or outer end with rearwardly-turned prongs, and a lockingmember at the free extremity of said shackle having slotted lateralWalls and of sufficient size to receive said rst-named locking member,for the purposeset forth.

6. A seal, comprising a suitable body equipped with a longitudinalchannel, a shackle having one end anchored in said body, a lockingmember having one end anchored in said body and equipped at its otherend with locking-prongs, anda box-form locking member at the free end ofsaid shackle and formed integrally therewith, the lateral walls IIOthereof being cut away to afford lockingshoulders for engaging saidprongs, for the purpose set forth.

7. A seal, comprising a suitable body, an inner locking member, ashackle having one end anchored in said body, and a box-form lockingmember formed integrally with the other end of said shackle and providedwith suitable locking-shoulders and shoulders adjacent to the inner endof said last-named locking member obstructing the entrance to thechannel in said body.

S. A seal, comprising a suitable casing, a

In presence of A. C. KITTLESON, WALTER N. WINBERG.

